Apple FCPX or Not: The Debate Tutorials

After 25 years as an editor, compositor, and VFX artist, frequent Creative COW poster and tutorial author Simon Ubsdell knows what he needs from a keyer -- and knew he wasn't getting good enough results from FCPX or Motion. Discussions in COW forums led him to create the highly regarded Hawaiki Keyer. Enthusiasm expressed by COW members for its latest release led us to ask Simon for a tour. If you're keying on a Mac, you're going to want to check this out.

A video production pioneer who shot with the first Sony Betacam camera and set up the first Betacam to 1-inch edit suite, Frank Beacham also worked with Orson Welles on Welles’ final project before passing away in 1985. Welles was exceptionally engaged with the most technical aspects of the cutting edge technology that was just beginning to emerge, including a passionate belief in the possibilities that Betacam could offer. This is a truly astounding tale of creativity at the crossroads, and an intimate look inside the mind and work of one of the 20th century’s most influential storytellers.

After the usual rabid anticipation, Apple released FCPX 10.2 with a wide range of new features that should excite any pro: new and improved keyframable masks, Library level Smart Collections, improved keyframing performance, 4-Up Scope viewer, the ability to save effects applied to clips.

With Creative Cloud updates announced ahead of the 2015 NAB Show, Adobe brings new workflows and expanded collaboration to Pro Video apps, including a Character Animator, new color workspaces and editorial tools in Premiere Pro, and Adobe Anywhere for Teams.

NLE interface design pioneer and longtime editor David Lawrence first wrote about the editing approach of FCPX, including its highly controversial Magnetic Timeline, soon after FCPX's release in the spring of 2011. Time has passed, the editing landscape has changed, and 4 years later, David takes another well-reasoned, hype-free look at the heart of Apple's new paradigm.

"The snow is finally starting to melt," says Creative COW Contributing Editor (and member with nearly 25,000 posts) Walter Biscardi, "so that means it’s time for the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention. I've gone so many times it’s more like a family reunion than a trade show anymore. Here’s my 2015 edition of “Tips From An NAB Veteran To Make The Best Use Of Your Time.”

"Trade show exhibitors are all competing to be the loudest, shiniest and sexiest," says Creative COW Contributing Editor Kylee Wall. "I'm writing to ask you to consider how your conduct can help make the exhibit hall a more inviting and inclusive experience for everyone."

"My name is Adam Bedford, I’m a tv editor, and I just ran my first ever 10k." Adam tell us that it was hard to even get started training, having sprained his ankle running from zombies at Comic-Con. And yet...

An explosive shockwave. Think you've seen it all before? Not until Simon Ubsdell has shown you how to take advantage of unique tools in Apple Motion 5 to make your own. Simon's experience has been built over 25 years in motion graphics, sound design and mixing, music composition, visual effects and compositing, as well as writing, directing and producing. Follow him as he takes you deep inside keyframes, caustics, camera behaviors, and customizations, as well as sharing real-world tips for finding your way around Motion.

Boris FX, makers of VFX plug-ins and integrated workflow solutions including Boris Continuum Complete, have signed an agreement to acquire Imagineer Systems, makers of mocha Pro. The two will combine for a tremendous reach in the editing, motion graphics, and VFX communities, and have already begun work on joint projects and technologies.

One of the biggest "issues" people coming from other NLE's still seem to have with FCP X is how the Timeline works. Magnetism! No Tracks! Weird Snorkel Things! Storylines?! It's Crazytown! If you fall into this category, we have two suggestions for you. 1) Read this article by Creative COW's Charlie Austin. 2) Don't fight the timeline! Even experienced X-ers are going to have fun with this one.

When editor William (Bill) Boodell came to LA, he didn't expect to ever be associated with a shark tornado -- I mean, who is? And now Sharknado (the first one), is a part of mainstream pop culture even a year later and his best known work to date. If you talk to Bill for five minutes, you'll discover that he's a film connoisseur with a near-concerning catalog of directors, editors, and filmmaking theory in his head, and an up-and-coming editor with a unique post-film path to Hollywood that anyone can learn from.

Hercules achieved an epic look on a relatively modest budget through careful and clever CG environments. Together, Method Studios and Milk VFX are two of the companies that helped create a full, realistic world for Hercules, from the sky, to the Acropolis, to the sea.

An auto-follow, gyro-stabilized GoPro drone that goes where you go, including skydiving and surfing, that you can operate hands-free -- sounds cool, right? It's called AirDog, and whether or not the product is for you, you can learn a lot from their very hot Kickstarter campaign: they reached their $200,000 goal in 4 days, on their way to over $1.3 million pledged.

Paul Del Vecchio is a filmmaker with an independent spirit. When he had the chance to beta test Blackmagic's new firmware on the Cinema Camera while serving as director of photography on the indie film "Trent & Isabella," he found that the new debayer process became a huge asset to getting the raw-like images he wanted without the price of storage and processing. Less time and money spent there means more focus on the film's visual style which ranges from spaghetti western to film noir.

Film projects are the most unsuccessfully funded of any Kickstarter category -- but producer and crowdfunding consultant Diana Ward Roark has worked on a number of campaigns for independent films that have exceeded their goals. She has the real-world advice you'll need to succeed, including where you can find backers, and how to engage them.

As America's Test Kitchen enters its 15th season on PBS, they've made the switch to Premiere Pro Creative Cloud. Post-production Supervisor and director Herb Sevush has been with the show from the beginning, and confessed some trepidation moving away from FCP 7, but has found it to be a great fit for their data-intensive, increasingly 4K multicam production, and his work with remote editors. Here, Herb offers some insights into both the why and the how of their switch, with special attention to Premiere Pro CC's approach to multicam.

The inventor of the NewTek Video Toaster was certain that he figured out the secret behind the uncanny realism of one of the world's greatest painters, and certain he could use the same methods to duplicate it. Really? Yes, really. Join us for a conversation with NewTek founder Tim Jenison on the unexpected intersection of art, technology, obsession and the Video Toaster in the wonderfully provocative documentary called Tim's Vermeer.

The cloud can mean a lot of things, and in some cases, it can mean nearly nothing. This can make it hard to even know what we're talking about. The "real" parts are getting more real all the time, though, for everything from collaboration to computation. Creative COW Contributing Editor Kylee Wall has been looking into the ways that the cloud in its many meanings is already transforming TV & film production today, and she has some ideas about where things might be going from here.

What were the big technology trends in media and entertainment over the past year? What's going to be significant in the coming year? Those are questions that many of us are asking, so we went to some of our savviest Creative COW contributors to ask their opinions of where we've been and where we're going. Here in Part 2, our conrtibutors offer in-depth insights. (See Part 1 for a broader industry overview.)

What were the big technology trends in media and entertainment over the past year? What's going to be significant in the coming year? Those are questions that many of us are asking, so we went to some of our savviest Creative COW contributors to ask their opinions of where we've been and where we're going. Here in Part 1, we offer an overview of their perspectives. (See Part 2 for their additional insights.)

Everyone has goals, makes New Year's resolutions, tries to find the path to enrichment, enlightenment, healthier thoughts, minds and bodies. How about not only becoming a better editor, but also becoming a better human being with some great advice from social media maven, Kylee Wall.